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P.J. Proby |
Rock’n’roll legend’s secret visit to honour old friend
IT could have been the cowboy boots under the suit which gave him away, or the hickory-smoked voice which filled every nook and cranny of Our Lady Help of Christians church in Lady Margaret Road.
Elvis’s friend, the legendary rock’n’roll singer P.J. Proby, made a secret visit to Kentish Town to pay tribute to the memory of a good samaritan friend last Wednesday.
Proby, 70, real name James Marcus Smith, also sang at the funeral service of Montpellier Grove resident Mary Campbell, whom he first met when his career took off in the UK during the sixties.
Mrs Campbell, described as “a very kind woman who cared for other people more than herself”, died at the Whittington Hospital in August aged 83.
Her daughter, Teresa Hartles, said: “My mum did everything for everyone else. She was always caring for the elderly in the neighbourhood, bringing them meals and looking after them, even into her eighties. A lot of them were younger than she was.”
Texan-born Proby, whose reputation for drinking and partying was only eclipsed by his success as a songwriter and performer, first met Mrs Campbell when she worked in a pub in Primrose Hill at around the time he made appearances with The Beatles and wrote hits for The Searchers.
He and the barmaid, who worked at many Camden pubs over the years including the old Falkland and The Torriano, remained in contact and good friends ever since.
He travelled from Worcestershire, where he now lives, to sing Take My Hand, Precious Lord in honour of Mrs Campbell.
At the service, Proby told the New Journal: “I’m not here today as P.J. Proby – I’m here as James Marcus Smith.”
Mrs Campbell died following “superb care” in the Nightingale ward, said her family. She is survived by her husband Jack and her three children. |
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Your comments:
That's just the kind of guy P. J. Proby (James Marcus Smith) is...the side of him the public don't see or don't want to see! The real side of him. He's done this sort of thing many times. He cares!!!
Ron Tennant, Belgium |
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